It is known to join a pair of tubular ends by flanges that are bolted together or by welding, brazing or bonding a pair of co-axial tubular ends together. If the tubular ends are bonded together by an adhesive then the bonded co-axial tubular joint is relatively strong in radial direction since hoop stresses are distributed over the co-axial tubular ends, but is relatively weak in longitudinal direction, since longitudinal forces generate shear forces in the relatively weak bonding region.